The Perfect Burger…it's out there

Ogden’s Hops & Harvest (CLOSED)

June 25th, 2013 by Erik Chudy

Tivoli Village is definitely creating a lot of buzz lately with all of its new restaurants; it’s just a pity that they haven’t brought any decent shopping to the table to bring in a few more bodies into the area. While I have mixed feelings about some of them, restaurants like Poppy Den, View, Cantina Laredo and many others have been gaining popularity with the locals. None of this was enough to keep Bottles & Burgers around, but that’s ok as we already have a replacement in the space with Bradley Ogden’s Hops & Harvest. Complete with a burger similar to what he formerly offered at Caesar’s, Ogden’s new restaurant hopes to add craft beers, farm to table comfort food and his famous burger to this growing food scene. I had to venture in there to sample this burger, as the last time I had it I was totally disappointed. Sadly, my recent experience will be just as controversial.

Located in the former Bottles & Burgers space, Hops utilized the same restaurant, bar and kitchen layout for its new venue, but added a few finishes to make it a tiny bit nicer than it was before. Unfortunately the hostesses still have some training to do, as they had a horrible time of trying to explain their seating options to us. Coming in on a Monday night at 6:30pm we didn’t bother making a reservation, but were greeted with a 10 minute wait for a booth, the option to sit outside on their side patio with misters, or to sit right away in their back lounge. Without thinking twice we chose the back lounge, only to be brought outside to a desolate back patio area with very minimal mister coverage and one employee sitting on a laptop. After well more than a 5 minute wait and a bit of sweat in the 95 degree weather two waiters came out at the same time to finally set our table and bring out menus. We promptly expressed our frustration with the location and were brought inside to an empty booth near the back… a booth that was located right by the loudest party of people ever assembled in a restaurant. So loud in fact, that we didn’t realize there was background music playing in the restaurant until after the group had left. I will note that our server Diana was very attentive, funny and super nice.

Seating woes and noise problems aside, we’re here to discuss food. Both the lunch and dinner menus offer a variety of clever sounding small plates and starters, sandwiches, salads and main courses. Being a lover of pork belly, we tried the Spicy BBQ Pork Belly before our burgers came out; they weren’t really spicy, but had a sweet, not so great bbq sauce on them. The pork itself was chewy and not cooked all that well, and the cheddar-ale dipping sauce didn’t have much flavor either. My friends had this same dish a few days earlier and thought their pork belly was crispy and delicious. Apparently the restaurant inconsistency never seems to work in my favor.

As for their ‘famous’ burger, the Grilled H&H burger, it is more or less served as just meat and bun. The bun is a house made bun; almost biscuit-like with a slight smell of brioche, while the meat is supposedly a house-ground chuck blend. The bun was good; a bit crispy on the inside, fresh but a tiny bit more dry than I would have liked. It was also a bit larger than my patty so the ratio is a little off. The patty was quite good; it had a great beefy flavor that did hold up on its own with just the bun, but was cooked a little more than the medium rare I had ordered. I added provolone cheese, and it seemed plentiful, but didn’t really represent at all in the few flavors. You are also given a small slice of onion, a couple pieces of lettuce, and oddly a ‘special sauce’ which is literally thousand island. Overall the burger is really good, but just not stand-out great. A few minimal, really good flavors don’t necessarily come together to make a fantastic burger, and this is a perfect example to me. This kind of reminds me of my first experience at Honey Salt; everything about the burger was good but it just didn’t stand out as having anything special going on. They regrouped, seasoned their patty, changed the bun, added some toppings and now offer something excellent. While I wasn’t totally impressed with Ogden’s burger at Caesar’s, I got what he was doing there; unfortunately I don’t think it works here anymore. I think it’s time to ditch this simplistic approach, add some creativity and come up with something truly special.

The hand cut fries were no good either; hot and very fresh, but seasoned with not quite enough salt on them, and too oily with that lovely flavor that the oil should have been changed yesterday. They instantly made me yearn for the fries I had at his hold location as they were far superior. Why can’t they replicate those? Given this experience, I’d rather go across the way to View to have their fan favorite burger and fries than this one. Also this burger jumps from $13.50 for lunch to $15 during dinner for presumably the same thing. Comparing the two menus, it appears that several other items make a similar jump as well. Plenty of restaurants throughout the city do this, I’m just not a fan. Also my cheese cost me an additional $3(insane!!!!) which isn’t mentioned on the menu, and not spoken of when offered by the waitress during ordering. Regardless of which price you’re going for, there are better and cheaper burger options very close by at Fleming’s, View or Honey Salt. I’m sure my opinion on this will be debated by the ass-kissers and hype-mongers in town, but that’s what they’re good for these days.

Overall score: 82

3 Responses

I have had two burgers that I think are the best I have ever had. The first one was at LeBurger Bistro at the Paris Hotel. It was a basic burger. Came with avocado, onion, tomato and baby lettuce. The tomato tasted like they just picked it. The lettuce was soft and fresh.

The second burger I had was at The Burger Bar. I ordered another basic burger. Happens to be my favorite. It was a large patty on a nice bun. Came with tomato,onion and lettuce. It tasted just like one from an old 50’s diner.

Both came with excellent fries.

I would recommend both these restaurants if you want a good old fashion burger and fries.

A quickie to let you know how much many of us in Las Vegas appreciate your efforts. This is a well-written review that is easy to concur with, especially after the local media food critics all gave their automatic “plus” grade to Hops and Harvest without seemingly taking a serious taste test. That happens too often; just imagine how different the reviews would have been if the same food was served by a chef that lacked a “name”. As a fan of Bradley Ogden there was much anticipation for this return to Las Vegas, but the high hopes have been met with disappointment. Good, but not great, and with the other options available, good is not good enough.

Yes folks, you heard it right! I’ve been a bit busy so unfortunately this contest didn’t occur during the month…more »

As an architect by day and burger connoisseur by night, Erik is starting his quest to track down the perfect burger in a city where excess is king and tourists expect the best.

Inspired by his brother, his journey begins to find that one burger that every local doesn’t want anyone to know about, and every tourist wants to come home and brag about. With casinos constantly in competition to launch the best burger joint and stay ahead of the rest, this promises to be a daunting task. But his love for good food and a determination to prove that the perfect burger is out there fuel his cause. While he’s unsure if his wallet can handle the task, his goal is to sample every place that serves a burger in this huge city and put them to the test.

Follow his journey as he gives you the only opinion that really matters: his.